Grant Empowers 10 High School Students to Launch Businesses in Brickell Area
Miami, June 1, 2021 – Miami Dade College (MDC) has partnered with The Underline to facilitate the launch of The Underline’s Budding Entrepreneurs program, which has facilitated 10 teen created businesses to launch Saturday, June 5, in its first phase, the Brickell Backyard. The Underline, which has also partnered with the Children’s Trust and the Beacon Council, received an $80,000 Innovation Grant from The Children’s Trust to foster innovation among high school students.
Students took a 16-week entrepreneurial class and then competed in a shark-tank style presentation to be one of 10 startups to kickoff their new business in the Brickell neighborhood. The Budding Entrepreneur program establishes a formative foundation for innovation, engagement and collaboration for high school students in underserved schools. Participating students will have a powerful platform to test and apply their creative vision and business concepts in the real world.
“The program gives our MDC dual enrollment students an edge by putting them in a position to practice immediately relevant and practical pillars of success, along with idea execution delivered with excellence, as they pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and endeavors in Brickell, Miami’s Financial District,” said Yanatha Desouvre, MDC School of Business professor.
The program debuts in a small business incubator kiosk on The Underline near the Brickell Metrorail Station. This urban location has heavy foot traffic from the more than 1.9 million patrons who transit through the area, plus neighboring residents and numerous businesses.
“The Underline is thrilled to provide our bustling urban park to creative students to help them implement their entrepreneurial concepts and experience the challenges and opportunities of business startups firsthand,” said Meg Daly, founder and CEO of Friends of The Underline. “High schoolers will be given the tools needed to explore a commercial venture and better prepare for the journey to college.”
About Miami Dade College
Miami Dade College is the most diverse institution in the nation. There are 167 nations and 63 languages represented in its student body. The college’s eight campuses and outreach centers offer more than 300 distinct degree pathways including associate and baccalaureate degrees, career certificates and apprenticeships. Baccalaureate degree offerings include biological sciences, engineering, data analytics, information systems technology, education, public safety, supervision and management, nursing, physician assistant studies, film and others. MDC is the recipient of many top national awards including the Aspen Prize. As Democracy’s College, MDC changes lives through accessible, high quality-teaching and learning experiences. It is the home of the Miami Culinary Institute, the Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex, the Miami Fashion Institute, the Eig-Watson School of Aviation, The Idea Center, the Cybersecurity Center of the Americas, the Cloud Computing Center, the Center for Learning, Innovation and Simulation, the School for Advanced Studies, and the New World School of the Arts, to name a few of its most innovative programs. MDC has been named among the nation’s “Great Colleges to Work For” since the program’s inception. The College embraces its responsibility to serve as an economic, cultural, and civic leader for the advancement of our diverse global community. Its alumni and employees contribute more than $3 billion annually to the local economy, and MDC graduates occupy top leadership positions in every major industry. MDC is renowned for its rich cultural programming. It is the home of the Miami Book Fair, Miami Film Festival, the National Historic Landmark Miami Freedom Tower, the Tower Theater, Dyer Building, Koubek Center Mansion and Gardens, Live Arts Miami at MDC, the Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives, the Museum of Art and Design, a sculpture park and a large campus art gallery and theater system. MDC has admitted more than 2,000,000 students and counting, since it opened its doors in 1960. More than 100,000 students are currently enrolled. For more information, visit www.mdc.edu.
About Budding Entrepreneurs
Participants are selected through Miami-Dade College’s Dual Enrollment program and in most cases are rising high school juniors and seniors participating in a summer internship. Miami-Dade College Wolfson campus targets high school campuses within their feeder pattern, particularly those that serve low-income populations, including: Booker T. Washington Senior High School, Miami Jackson Senior High School, Miami Edison Senior High School, Miami Springs Senior High School, and Coral Gables Senior High School. Entrepreneurs begin the program with an entrepreneurship class in February, which enables them to address the start-to-finish creation and publication of a business plan framework. These students will be guided by Professors Desouvre, Recio and Hortensi. In addition, members of the Beacon Council, business leaders, and college students will serve as mentors to the teens throughout the creation of their business plans. The winning/selected businesses will be launched Summer 2021 after students complete their business plans and the 10 top proposals are awarded grant funds for supplies.
About The Children’s Trust
The Children’s Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.
About The Underline
The Underline is a planned 10-mile urban trail, linear neighborhood park and public art destination that will span from the Miami River, north of Brickell Metrorail station, to Dadeland South. The Underline project will feature dedicated bike and pedestrian paths, amenities, art, programming, lighting, native vegetation, as well as safety features and improvements at road crossings. The Underline will be built in phases, the first of which will begin in the Brickell area. For more information, visit www.theunderline.org and/and @theunderlinemia on social media.